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The United States Navy Memorial

Navy Memorial Honoring the Men & Women of the Sea Services

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Neches

Ship Designation: 
AO-5
Date Lost: 
Friday, January 23, 1942
Torpedo Attack out of Pearl Harbor
Neches steamed from Pearl Harbor late in the afternoon of January 22, 1942, headed for the western Pacific. Shortly after midnight, the watch discerned a possible submarine at a range of about 1,000 yards and immediately took evasive action. At 0310 there was a heavy thud amidships, probably a dud torpedo. At 0319 a torpedo struck the oiler on the starboard side abaft the engine room. The explosion caused extensive flooding in the engine room spaces, although water did not reach the fire room. At 0328 the submarine [I-72] was sighted to port just before another torpedo struck the port side. Both 5-inch guns took the submarine under fire and continued firing until 0335, when the list to starboard made it impossible to depress the guns sufficiently. ... Neches slowly settled forward and the list to starboard increased steadily. She sank at 0437, with a loss of fifty-seven men.

Lost At Sea Log

Number of sailors in this log: 56

Name Service Branchsort descending
F 1c Albert Bowen USN
Sea 2c Terry Spooner USN
Sea 2c Victor Hays USN
Sea 2c Raymond Zuk USN
Y 3c Anthony Bukovich USN
AS Merle Surber USN
Sea 1c Thomas Holland USN
AS Eldridge Wigand USN
BM 2c Robert Conrad USN
Sea 2c Arthur Swortfiguer USN
F 1c Henry Herring USN
Sea 2c Ernest White USN
GM 3c Verlin Crousore USN
AS Joseph Tucker USN
Sea 2c Glen Golden USN
AS Adam Woitkielevicz USN

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Prepared by CAPT R.O. Strange USN (Ret.)